When the Orphan Wins

Picture of an Orphan

Western film and literature love the orphan. 

Peter Pan. Harry Potter. Anne of Green Gables. Oliver Twist. Jane Eyre. Luke Skywalker. Simba. Superman. 

Madeleine L’Engle, in Walking on Water (53), argues that in her favorite stories it’s always the unqualified character who finishes the quest. 

I’ve noticed it’s the lonely, the hurt, the fearful, the forgotten characters who prevail. Why is the motif so powerful and prevalent? I think it has something to do with the Bible’s influence on Western Civilization and the way the world works. 

The God who crafted the universe is tender toward the orphan. When the orphan cries, God listens. When they’re overlooked, God sees them. 

How odd this is! And what great material for novels and movies. 

No wonder Dickens told stories about powerless children like Pip, David Copperfield, and Oliver Twist. There’s something earthshaking when the weak become strong! 

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that God has woven this principle throughout the universe. Listen to what he says, 

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 

Now, I’d like to hear from you. What orphan stories resonate most deeply with you?